It was four long months ago that 91 alternative newsweeklies and their editorial assistants scrambled to submit nearly 1,100 entries to the 2010 AltWeekly Awards. The month was February, and Washington, DC was hit by an epic snowstorm that forced the AAN office to close for a week and led to a decision to extend the deadline for entry submissions. Since then, each of those 1000+ entries have been downloaded and evaluated by judges on their MacBooks, PC’s, and in some cases even on paper. In what was possibly a display of solidarity with the contestants, some of these judges sent in their scores in the same last minute fervor in which the entries were originally submitted.
With summer’s unofficial arrival, the judging process is now complete and the 159 finalists of the 2010 AltWeekly Awards have been established. Whether it’s Jonathan Gold’s (L.A. Weekly) mouthwatering tales of devouring birria in a small East L.A. eatery or Tim Vanderpool’s (Tucson Weekly) revolting description of the diarrhea covered walls in a local greyhound kennel, this year’s crop of finalists serves as our yearly reminder that alternative newsweeklies continue to bring it week after week: top-notch investigative reporting, in-depth coverage of the arts, and innovative design work to newsstands, corner stores and record shops across the continent.
Nashville Scene, competing in the small-circulation division, led all papers with eleven awards. In the large-circulation division, Boston Phoenix will snag ten awards and L.A. Weekly will pick up nine prizes at the awards ceremony next month.
Other big winners include Washington City Paper with eight awards; and both Santa Fe Reporter and Village Voice with six. Gambit, Houston Press, Pacific Northwest Inlander, and Style Weekly will each take home five awards. In its first year of eligibility, SEE Magazine of Edmonton, Alberta will receive honors in the cover design category.
The final rankings of the winners will be revealed at the AltWeekly Awards luncheon on July 16 in Toronto during AAN’s 33rd Annual Convention. Gustavo Arellano, staff writer for OC Weekly and author of the nationally syndicated weekly column ‘¡Ask A Mexican!’, will host the ceremony.
The entries were judged and ranked by a batch of 135-plus judges that included the likes of Ana Marie Cox (of Wonkette fame), Michelle Cottle (The New Republic), Jim DeRogatis (Chicago Sun-Times / Sound Opinions), Felix Gillette (NY Observer), David Hajdu (Columbia School of Journalism), Brant Houston (Investigative Reporters and Editors Inc.), Mollie Katzen (Moosewood Cookbook), Markos Moulitsas (DailyKos), Robert Newman (SPD), Troy Patterson (Slate), Sara Quinn (Poynter), Choire Sicha (The Awl), and Tracy Weber (ProPublica), just to name a few. The full list of judges will be posted later this month.
The finalists below are listed in alphabetical order by newspaper within each category.
Leading up to the awards ceremony, AAN will be showcasing the winning design work in our photo gallery on Facebook. Finalists in the design categories are encouraged to send JPGs of their work to Jason Zaragoza at: jason(at)aan[dot]org.
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DESIGN CATEGORIES
COVER DESIGN circulation 50,000 and over
Miami New Times: Pork Pirates, He Buried Che, and In the Name of the King by Pam Shavalier
New Times Broward-Palm Beach: The Agent from Iran, To Juice and Serve, and Hackintosh by Miche Ratto
Riverfront Times: The State of Street Art in St. Louis, Munchausen She Wrote, and Cardinals by Tom Carlson
Westword: Dead Wrong, Bad Dog?, and Dude Where’s My Car? by Jay Vollmar
COVER DESIGN circulation under 50,000
Maui Time Weekly: Seven Scariest County & State Elected Officials, Sedaris & Me, and The Year That Got Old In a Hurry by Chris Skiles
Portland Mercury: Sex Issue, Queer Issue, and Enchanted Forest by Justin “Scrappers” Morrison
Santa Fe Reporter: Geronimo, If I was Trying to Kill You?, and Starstruck by Angela Moore
SEE Magazine: The Myth Is Dead, Christian Hansen and the Autistics, and Print In Peril by Byron Eggenschwiler, 3Ten Photography, and Ian Jackson
EDITORIAL LAYOUT circulation 50,000 and over
Miami New Times: Pint-Size Preacher by Pam Shavalier
NOW Magazine: Earth Day Issue by Troy Beyer and Stephen Chester
Philadelphia City Paper: The Style Issue by Reseca Peskin
Sacramento News & Review: Living Homeless by David Jayne
EDITORIAL LAYOUT circulation under 50,000
Nashville Scene: The Big Fest Club by Elizabeth Jones
Pacific Northwest Inlander: Fall Arts Preview by Chris Bovey
Tucson Weekly: The Strange Saga of Geronimo’s Skull by Adam Kurtz
ILLUSTRATION circulation 50,000 and over
City Pages (Twin Cities): Fairmongering by Dan Picasso
L.A. Weekly: Between Iraq and a Hard Place by Jason Edmiston
Phoenix New Times: Good Cop, Bad Cop by Brian Stauffer
ILLUSTRATION circulation under 50,000
Nashville Scene: Afghaniscrewed by Rob Williams and Robin Eley
Nashville Scene: You Are So Nashville If by Rob Williams and John Gurney
Orlando Weekly: Fringe Free-For-All by Jeff Drew
PHOTOGRAPHY circulation 50,000 and over
City Pages (Twin Cities): Photography by Nick Vlcek
Creative Loafing (Atlanta): Photography by Joeff Davis
Washington City Paper: Photography by Darrow Montgomery
PHOTOGRAPHY circulation under 50,000
Nashville Scene: Photography by Eric England
Pacific Northwest Inlander: Photography by Young Kwak
Style Weekly: Photography by Scott Elmquist
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WRITING CATEGORIES
ARTS CRITICISM circulation 50,000 and over
Boston Phoenix: The Beast in Me, Vandal-in-Chief, and Fabulous Fakes by Greg Cook
Village Voice: Why Hard Times Won’t Mean Good Times, Robert Frank’s Real America, and Let the Mild Rumpus Start! by Jim Hoberman
Willamette Week: Exploding Hearts, Triumph Of The Reel, and Gone Nuts by Aaron Mesh
ARTS CRITICISM circulation under 50,000
Independent Weekly (NC): Picasso at the Nasher, Christian Marclay’s Visions of Sound, and Digital Variations by Amy White
Nashville Scene: Madhouse (pdf), Once Upon a Time Forever (pdf), and Subpar Subway (pdf) by Jim Ridley
Orlando Weekly: Ecstatic Transformations and Summer Studies by Jessica Bryce Young
ARTS FEATURE circulation 50,000 and over
Chicago Reader: The Jackson Find by Jake Austen
L.A. Weekly: Man on Man by Gendy Alimurung
L.A. Weekly: On the Road to Burma by Randall Roberts
Phoenix New Times: Chasing Pablo by Robrt L. Pela
ARTS FEATURE circulation under 50,000
Fort Worth Weekly: Phases and Stages by Jeff Prince
Style Weekly: Art on Trial by Edwin Slipek Jr.
COLUMN circulation 50,000 and over
Creative Loafing (Tampa): ‘Poet’s Notebook’: Pacifist Poets, The Voice of the Average Guy, The Spider Web Theory by Peter Meinke
Dallas Observer: The Fall Guy, Whitewashing Reality, and Irony City by Jim Schutze
Phoenix New Times: The MCSO and the Rape Victim, City Raids Pastor’s Home, and I Won’t Be Home for Christmas by Sarah Fenske
SF Weekly: ‘Bouncer’: Tea Party Politics; Don’t Try the Pinapple Truffles; Jay Bennett Breaks a Heart by Katy St. Clair
COLUMN circulation under 50,000
Folio Weekly: Meth Penalty, Apology Excepted, Exit Strategy by Anne Schindler
Gambit Weekly: Commentary by David Winkler-Schmit
Metro Pulse: Secret History by Jack Neely
Santa Fe Reporter: Unfriendly but Hot, Labor Daze, and Better Vice by Zane Fischer
COLUMN — POLITICAL circulation 50,000 and over
Chicago Reader: October Surprise, Stimulus, Chicago-Style and Ready, Set, (Property Tax) Hike by Ben Joravsky
SF Weekly: Bumping Frights, Domestic Spouses, On Thin Ice by Matt Smith
Village Voice: The Mayor’s Press Pass, Senate Coup Plotters Hidden Agenda, Gillibrand Learned How to Defend Tobacco by Tom Robbins
COLUMN — POLITICAL circulation under 50,000
Nashville Scene: Chaos at the Capitol (pdf), Solo Ingles Derrotado (pdf), and Bone of Convention (pdf) by Jeff Woods
Seven Days: Intern Nation, Discouraged Workers and Chronic Insanity by Judith Levine
Tucson Weekly: You Should Support Health-Care Reform, Price Tags, and Arizonans Are Getting What We’re Paying For by Renee Downing
FEATURE STORY circulation 50,000 and over
Boston Phoenix: A Weed Grows in Boston by Valerie Vande Panne
SF Weekly: Exporting the Dead by Lauren Smiley
Westword: The Giveaway by Alan Prendergast
FEATURE STORY circulation under 50,000
Fort Worth Weekly: Renaissance on the Rails by Peter Gorman
Santa Cruz Weekly: Life and Death on the Pajaro River Levee by Jessica Lussenhop
Santa Fe Reporter: My Oh Mayan! by Corey Pein
FOOD WRITING circulation 50,000 and over
City Pages (Twin Cities): Superhero Me, The Urban Survivalist, and Slaughterhouse Live by Rachel Hutton
L.A. Weekly: Floria del Rio Will Get Your Goat, Hare Roday, Wild-Boar Sopes Tomorrow, and So Sorry, So Good by Jonathan Gold
Seattle Weekly: And You Will Know Us by the Trail of German Butterballs, Drawing Room Comedy, and Healing from a Hot Pot by Jonathan Kauffman
Washington City Paper: Young & Hungry: How Not to Hire a Chef, Dear Zagat, and Banh Mi–in D.C.? by Tim Carman
FOOD WRITING circulation under 50,000
The Coast: A Fire in the Bear’s Den, Tears for Beers, and Offally Good by Andy Murdoch
Creative Loafing (Sarasota): Hog Wild by Brian Ries
Gambit: Clove at First Bite (pdf), Alligator Wrestling (pdf), and Dramatic Results (pdf) by Ian McNulty
Nashville Scene: Back to the Table, The Cocktail’s Hour, Ch-Ch-Changing Appetites by Carrington Fox
INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING circulation 50,000 and over
Austin Chronicle: Believing the Children by Jordan Smith
Boston Phoenix: Soldiers Committing Suicide and Stress Test by Jason Notte
Houston Press: A Quiet Hell by Chris Vogel
Long Island Press: Messed Up by Christopher Twarowski
INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING circulation under 50,000
Gambit: Jindal’s List by Jeremy Alford
Jackson Free Press: Jackson Public Schools by Ward Schaefer
Nashville Scene: Unsafe in Their Beds and Tell No One by Brantley Hargrove
Texas Observer: Burn Patterns by Dave Mann
MEDIA REPORTING / CRITICISM circulation 50,000 and over
Boston Phoenix: ‘Don’t Quote Me’ by Adam Reilly
New Times Broward-Palm Beach: The Rise and Fall of South Florida’s Daily Newspapers by Lisa Rab
Washington City Paper: Happy World, Alliance for Progress and Dan Froomkin by Erik Wemple
MEDIA REPORTING / CRITICISM circulation under 50,000
Metro Pulse: Care to Comment? by Frank Carlson
Seven Days: High Noon for the Burlington Free Press by Cathy Resmer
Style Weekly: Final Delivery by Scott Bass, Chris Dovi, Rich Griset, Laura Robertson and Greg Weatherford
MUSIC REPORTING / CRITICISM circulation 50,000 and over
L.A. Weekly: The Day the Music Died, Katy Perry Unpeeled, and Bon Iver at Hollywood Forever Cemetery by Randall Roberts
SF Weekly: A Long Strange Trip, Just Tweet It, and DJ Beto by Jennifer Maerz
Village Voice: Go See Phish at Least Once, On Michael Jackson’s This Is It, and On 50 Cent’s Self-Help Book by Rob Harvilla
MUSIC REPORTING / CRITICISM circulation under 50,000
Memphis Flyer: Bush Music: A Mix, Dream’s Life, and Two Testaments by Chris Herrington
Pacific Northwest Inlander: Backtrack, Past Lives, and The Revivalist by Leah Sottile
San Antonio Current: ‘Kamikaze’: El Moz, Die Reggaeton Die, and The incredible Shrinking Grammy by Enrique Lopetegui
NEWS STORY — LONG FORM circulation 50,000 and over
Boston Phoenix: Sarah Palin, Inc. by David S. Bernstein
Houston Press: Getting Off by Mike Giglio
The Pitch: Exit Strategy by Carolyn Szczepanski
Seattle Weekly: Lethally Blonde by Rick Anderson
NEWS STORY — LONG FORM circulation under 50,000
Boulder Weekly: Until Proven Guilty by Pamela White
LEO Weekly: A History of Violence by Sarah Kelley
Santa Fe Reporter: The House Thornburg Lost, Try, Try Again, and Thornburglars by Corey Pein
Style Weekly: Richmond’s War on Culture: Show Stoppers, Curdled Culture, and Mayor Vows to Protect First Fridays by Chris Dovi
NEWS STORY — SHORT FORM circulation 50,000 and over
Boston Phoenix: Local Activists Crusade to Cut Circumcisions, Hacking Pact, and Tapped Out by Chris Faraone
L.A. Weekly: The Valley’s Galaxy of Goo, Wrinkles at Runkle Canyon, and Brentwood’s Toxic Grave by Michael Collins
Washington City Paper: The Barry Archives, Harriette Walters, and Fire Brass by Mike DeBonis
NEWS STORY — SHORT FORM circulation under 50,000
Gambit: The Wrong Man, Cleaning the Big House, and Late Aid by David Winkler-Schmit
LEO Weekly: Watching Over Witnesses, Kentucky History X, and The Corn That Grew From Concrete by Phillip M. Bailey
Pacific Northwest Inlander: Regime Change, Fighting Fire, and The Association by Nicholas Deshais
Tucson Weekly: Kennel No. 1, Ordinance Ignored, and Greyhound Runaround by Tim Vanderpool
PUBLIC SERVICE circulation 50,000 and over
Chicago Reader: Ten Pieces on Why it Would be a Disaster for Chicago to Host the 2016 Olympics by Ben Joravsky
Houston Press: Wild Rides by Paul Knight
L.A. Weekly: Los Angeles on $300,000 a Year by Patrick Range McDonald, Tibby Rothman, Daniel Heimpl and Jill Stewart
PUBLIC SERVICE circulation under 50,000
Fort Worth Weekly: Smell Test by Dan McGraw, Peter Gorman and Jeff Prince
Jackson Free Press: Two Lakes by Adam Lynch, Ward Schaefer, Todd Stauffer and Donna Ladd
Metro Pulse: TVA Ash Spill by Charles Maldonado and Frank Carlson
SPECIAL TOPIC — HEALTH REPORTING circulation 50,000 and over
City Pages (Twin Cities): Saving Juju by Erin Carlyle
Miami New Times: Piece of Mind by Natalie O’Neill
Phoenix New Times: The Lost Kids: Saving Alex, Losing Erica, and Suicidal Tendencies by Amy Silverman
SPECIAL TOPIC — HEALTH REPORTING circulation under 50,000
Colorado Springs Independent: Still Screwed by Anthony Lane
Missoula Independent: Power Broker by Matthew Frank
Pacific Northwest Inlander: Misdiagnosed by Nicholas Deshais
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WEB & MISCELLANEOUS CATEGORIES
BLOG (GROUP OR STAFF) circulation 50,000 and over
L.A. Weekly: Squid Ink by Amy Scattergood
OC Weekly: Navel Gazing by OC Weekly Staff
Village Voice: Runnin’ Scared by Village Voice Staff
Washington City Paper: City Desk by Washington City Paper Staff
BLOG (GROUP OR STAFF) circulation under 50,000
Nashville Scene: Pith in the Wind by Nashville Scene Staff
Portland Mercury: Blogtown, PDX by Portland Mercury Staff
Santa Fe Reporter: SFReeper.com by Santa Fe Reporter Staff
BLOG (INDIVIDUAL) circulation 50,000 and over
Boston Phoenix: Talking Politics by David S. Bernstein
Cleveland Scene: ’64 and Counting by Vince Grzegorek
Miami New Times: Riptide by Kyle Munzenrieder
Washington City Paper: The Sexist by Amanda Hess
BLOG (INDIVIDUAL) circulation under 50,000
Memphis Flyer: Intermission Impossible by Chris Davis
North Bay Bohemian: City Sound Inertia by Gabe Meline
CARTOON
The Critical Line by Steve Greenberg (Ventura County Reporter)
Failure by Karl Stevens (Boston Phoenix)
Idiot Box by Matt Bors (Boston Phoenix)
Slowpoke by Jen Sorensen
INNOVATION / FORMAT BUSTER circulation 50,000 and over
Las Vegas CityLife: Wasting Away in West Las Vegas by Amy Kingsley, Maureen Adamo, and Justin Yurkanin
NOW Magazine: Black History Quiz by Enzo DiMatteo, Troy Beyer, and Stephen Chester
Washington City Paper: How the District’s Children Die by Jason Cherkis
Willamette Week: Give Guide by Richard Meeker
INNOVATION / FORMAT BUSTER circulation under 50,000
Independent Weekly (NC): Bowerbirds and Megafaun Tour America Together and Tell the Tales by Maria Bilinski Shain, Shayne O’Neill, Nathan Golub, Grayson Currin, and Bryan Reed
San Antonio Current: Artist in Residence by Wendi Kimura, David Vega, Cruz Ortiz, and Kelly O’Connor
Santa Fe Reporter: Where’s the Money? by Corey Pein, Larry Kohr and Julia Goldberg
MULTIMEDIA circulation 50,000 and over
Boston Phoenix: Independents Day by Daniel Brockman, Michael Brodeur, Lance Gould, Matt Parish, and Ryan Stewart
Houston Press: Not So Clear Cut: Main Article, Video, Follow-Up Blog Entry, and Photo Slideshow by Robb Walsh
Washington City Paper: D.C.’s Biggest Party in Pictures by Darrow Montgomery, Ted Scheinman and Erik Wemple
MULTIMEDIA circulation under 50,000
Independent Weekly (NC): Bones are Beautiful by D.L. Anderson
Mountain Xpress: We are Burton Street: The Neighborhood’s Stand Against D.O.T. by Mountain Xpress Staff & Contributors
Santa Cruz Weekly: The Aztecas of South Santa Cruz County: Main Article and Videos by Jessica Lussenhop
Style Weekly: VirginiaTalks.com: Virginia Gubernatorial Debate and Behind the Debate by Jason Roop
MUSIC BLOG circulation 50,000 and over
Houston Press: Rocks Off by Houston Press Staff
L.A. Weekly: West Coast Sound by LA Weekly Staff
Riverfront Times: A to Z by Riverfront Times Staff
Village Voice: Sound of the City by Village Voice Staff
MUSIC BLOG circulation under 50,000
Colorado Springs Independent: Indy Blog by Bill Forman
Portland Mercury: End Hits by Ezra Ace Caraeff and Ned Lannanman
Nashville Scene: NashvilleCream.com by Nashville Scene Staff
SPECIAL SECTION circulation 50,000 and over
OC Weekly: Best of OC 2009 by OC Weekly Staff
Philadelphia City Paper: City Paper Choice: The Big Vision Issue by Philadelphia City Paper Staff
Village Voice: Best of NYC 2009 by Village Voice Staff
Willamette Week: Restaurant Guide by Ben Waterhouse
SPECIAL SECTION circulation under 50,000
Gambit: CUE by Kara Nelson
Nashville Scene: Best of Nashville 2009 by Nashville Scene Staff
North Bay Bohemian: Best of the North Bay 2009 by North Bay Bohemian Staff
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